Senate GOP: Cuomo's comments are "way out of line"

Senate Republicans did not take kindly to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's remarks Saturday at a Democratic endorsement rally in White Plains, calling them "misleading and way out of line."

In a statement Sunday, Senate GOP spokeswoman Kelly Cummings took issue with Cuomo's assertion that the state's recent fiscal restraint and legislative accomplishments are due to the Democratic Party. During his comments Saturday, Cuomo touted the successes of his first term, saying it "took a Democratic Party to bring down taxes in the state of New York."

"We understand that things get said at political rallies, but the Governor's comments are misleading and way out of line," Cummings said. "He knows that Democrats and Republicans have worked together to turn Albany around, and it's the only way we can continue to deliver the bipartisan results New Yorkers want and deserve."

Cuomo, speaking to a pro-Democrat crowd while endorsing county executive candidates Noam Bramson in Westchester and David Fried in Rockland, gave the Democrats the credit for the state's 2 percent property-tax cap and for capping state spending.

The property-tax cap and a rejiggering of the state's tax code -- which led to a modestly lower rate for the middle class while maintaining higher rates for the wealthy than was set to take effect -- came in 2011, Cuomo's first year in office. But 2011 was also the first year Republicans returned to power in the state Senate after a two-year absence.

"Today, every New Yorker pays a lower tax rate than they did three years ago when we took over and that’s thanks to the Democratic Party," Cuomo said Saturday. "We passed a property tax cap of 2 percent, we controlled state spending at 2 percent and we got this economy running today and now we can say we have more jobs in the state of New York today than ever before in the history of the state of New York. That’s thanks to the Democratic Party.”

Cummings said Cuomo's credit to the Democrats is misguided.

"With all due respect to the Governor, it was Senate Republicans who provided the leadership to enact a property tax cap, eliminate the MTA payroll tax for thousands of businesses, reduce spending, pass three consecutive early budgets and bring New York's focus back to creating jobs," she said.

Since then, the relationship between Cuomo and the Legislature appears to have cooled, thanks in large part to an anti-corruption panel Cuomo created in July. The Moreland Commission, as it's known, has focused its efforts on state lawmakers, threatening subpoenas for information about their outside income and legal clients.

Cummings' full statement is below:

"With all due respect to the Governor, it was Senate Republicans who provided the leadership to enact a property tax cap, eliminate the MTA payroll tax for thousands of businesses, reduce spending, pass three consecutive early budgets and bring New York's focus back to creating jobs. The last time Democrats controlled Albany on their own they raised taxes by $14 billion, spent billions more than the state could afford, implemented the job-killing MTA payroll tax over Republican objections, took away the STAR rebate check and made life more difficult for every hard-working Westchester County taxpayer, and allowed chaos and dysfunction to fester throughout state government. We understand that things get said at political rallies, but the Governor's comments are misleading and way out of line. He knows that Democrats and Republicans have worked together to turn Albany around, and it's the only way we can continue to deliver the bipartisan results New Yorkers want and deserve."